- April 22, 2024
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During the next three years, Palm Coast could receive almost $1 million in federal grants.
To bring more federal money into the city, the Palm Coast City Council at its Sept. 13 workshop decided to pursue entitlement status with the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The move could bring almost $1 million into the city during the next three years.
Currently, Palm Coast is under the small cities Community Block Development Grant program, which provides for a maximum of $750,000.
City Manager Jim Landon said reaching entitlement status provides flexibility.
“The state will put you in a box, and you have to meet the state criteria,” Landon said Tuesday. “If you go entitlement, then the City Council establishes a priority for Palm Coast, and those would be the programs you would eventually fund.”
Applications for entitlement status are due Sept. 16, to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
City discusses loan guarantee program
City staff also presented a proposed revolving loan-guarantee program.
The program would be a byproduct of the dissolution of Enterprise Flagler — which would refund the city of Palm Coast between $40,000 and $60,000, according to Landon.
The program wouldn’t place the city in the loan-making business, he said.
According to the city’s Business Assistance Center, the revolving loan-guarantee program will assist clients of the BAC in obtaining access to capital.
Beau Falgout, senior economic planner, said the benefiting business must be a client of the BAC to apply.
Landon said putting these funds toward the BAC would “provide some sort of comfort level,” and that the money wouldn’t just be thrown into the city’s general fund.
Internet café update
As opposed to the pain-management clinic situation, the Florida Legislature hasn’t done much when it comes to regulation of Internet cafés.
City Attorney Bill Reischmann said the hope is to extend the current moratorium another six months — until March 2012 — in hopes that the state will provide some clearer regulation.
Landon said an ordinance to extend the moratorium on Internet cafés will be on the Sept. 20 regular meeting agenda.
PAIN-CLINIC REGULATION
The Palm Coast City Council considered several options Sept. 13, for regulating pain-management clinics in the city.
Such establishments already are regulated through the Florida Legislature, but City Council members want to regulate the clinics further.
“The state has done a lot when it comes to pain-management clinics,” City Manager Jim Landon said. “We also believe there are some things we can do locally to tighten that up.”
There are three legitimate clinics in Palm Coast, officials said.
Council members agreed Tuesday to bring the list of regulations to the three open clinics to help determine if the new regulations are appropriate.
The ordinance will come back to the City Council at a future regular meeting.
